US open: Stocks trade higher following Powell speech

As of 1540 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.60% at 35,424.28, while the S&P 500 was 0.67% firmer at 4,499.85 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.80% stronger at 15,065.76.

The Dow opened 211.16 points higher on Friday, reversing losses recorded in the previous session.

Friday's primary focus was the central bank's summit in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with the Fed now trying to prepare markets for when it likely eases its $120.0bn monthly bond purchases later in the year. Central to the symposium was Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell's speech in which he indicated that the central bank would likely start withdrawing a number of its easy-money policies before the end of 2021.

Powell said the US economy has now reached a point where it no longer requires as much policy support. However, while that means the Fed will likely start curbing the number of bonds it purchases every month before the end of the year, assuming economic progress continues, he also stated that it does not mean that rate increases are looming.

"The timing and pace of the coming reduction in asset purchases will not be intended to carry a direct signal regarding the timing of interest rate liftoff, for which we have articulated a different and substantially more stringent test," Powell said.

He stated that while inflation was around the Fed's 2% target rate, "we have much ground to cover to reach maximum employment" - the second KPI in the central bank's dual mandate.

Also in focus, headlines out of Afghanistan that confirmed explosions near Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul had taken the lives of 13 US service members and wounded a further 18.

On the macro front, US personal spending growth slowed down in July, according to the Commerce Department, as shortages of motor vehicles offset a rise in outlays on in-person services. Consumer spending rose just 0.3% last month following a revised 1.1% increase in June, while the personal consumption expenditures price gauge ticked up 0.4% month-on-month and 4.2% year-on-year.

Elsewhere, an advance reading of last month's goods trade balance came in at -$86.3bn, lower than both last month's print of -$92.1bn and estimates for a print of -$90.8bn, and the University of Michigan's final August consumer sentiment index came in at a print of 70.3, shy of expectations for a reading of 70.7.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Friday.